Different, But Still the Same
by Pandoras-Closet
Summary: Amy Lynn thought her life was over when her Mom moved them to Juuban Hollow...it's not over, it's just gone to hell.
1. Fall Of A Genius

"In all of nature, there is one universal truth that applies to every race in the animal kingdom: the female is always the deadlier of the species." --Solomon Paine  
  
"Save only the Botswannian Assassin Wombats, but they're a special case."   
  
-Miashara  
  
*********************  
  
Entry #114  
  
The FBI and AMA cleared Mom of all charges yesterday. She says that they're starting to focus on the senior staff members, which is probably where all the money from the scandal was going. As it is, the hospital will be closed down, Mom thinks it's probably for good and she's starting to look for another job, one that is "good karma this time". She thinks we might have to move.  
  
Dad sent flowers when he heard about her being cleared but Mom threw them away without even looking at the card. I wish she wasn't so stubborn about his-no, it's not worth dwelling on.  
  
I hope we stay in Saint Paul-or at least the Great Lakes area-I love the winters here. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Ice is nice.  
  
****  
  
Amy Lynn Angela Anderson sighed as she stepped out of the elevator onto the seventh floor of the condo building. Here she was, the best student in school, honors program, played clarinet, harp and drums in the band, and volunteered at the boys and girls club mentoring young scientists, and her math teacher was still giving her only mid-level calculus. Now the end of the school year had come and gone, and she felt...unsatisfied with her education, Where was the challenge? Some nonlinear four-dimensional differential equations at least.   
  
Something she could sink her teeth into.  
  
"Or at least give me time in the chemistry lab," she muttered to herself." She had been brushing her teeth yesterday morning when it suddenly occurred to her that a nine-volt battery, xenon gas, and the cheese on the pizzas in the cafeteria could be combined to create artificial muscle tissue that the human immune system wouldn't reject. She had rushed back to her room, sketched out the formula and presented it to Mr. Carson, the senior science teacher. He had looked at it, turned white, told her that it was very nice, and then took a bottle from his desk drawer and began taking long gulps from it, his hands shaking almost as violently as they had when she had made the lab table float in mid-air.  
  
She hadn't meant to make it float, but the chemical spill right before it had been sort of her fault. If only Doctor Knight of Pacific Tech wasn't so damn good at explaining particle physics. She could almost hear his voice.  
  
'Amy Lynn, would you like to help me probe the Universe?' Protons, quarks, Doctor Knight explaining fusion in...intimate detail while demonstrating how to probe the universe on the Accelerator...Amy Lynn's mouth began to water and she felt her knees begin to buckle.   
  
The Accelerator...all those quarks, and atoms, and protons...oh the protons....  
  
"Mmmmm," she sighed. Of course, Doctor Knight was fairly good looking as well...if one went for that sort of thing.  
  
Pulling her key out of her pocket, she unlocked the front door and was startled to see her mom packing things into boxes.  
  
"Mom?"  
  
"Good news, dear, I found a new job, we're moving!"  
  
*****************  
  
Amy Lynn stared out at the scenery as her mother's convertible whisked them down the back road. White fences seemed to be the order of the day, and now and again, a horse raised it's head to watch them speed by. The air was warm, very uncomfortable to Amy Lynn, who thrived in temperatures below seventy degrees. At nearly eighty, according to the radio, it was getting way too hot for her tastes. The breeze from the car's passage did little to counteract it.  
  
"Where are we going again?" she asked.  
  
"Juuban Hollow," her mother replied. "It's where I was born. There's only about a few hundred people there and everyone knows everyone else. The town doctor is getting ready to retire-such a dear man-and when he does, I'll take over his practice."  
  
"But-why-Mom, you're not even allowed to practice in this state."  
  
"Yes I am." Doctor Anderson handed her daughter a leather wallet. Opening it, Amy Lynn found a badge and laminated ID card. "Mom, this is your Air National Guard Reserve ID." Her mother was medical corpsman seconded to the Guard's Military Police, which was why she also had a badge.  
  
"And it means I'm allowed to practice medicine anywhere within the United States," Doctor Anderson said, almost smugly. "I've been assured that it will cover me until the paperwork for my civilian license goes through."  
  
Amy Lynn made a noise in her throat.  
  
*****************  
  
Juuban Hollow proved to be a single street which also served as highway 237 lined sporadically with old wooden buildings on both sides.   
  
Only one thing caught her eye. A blond haired girl sitting on the roof of an old pickup truck parked by the side of the road, a big black Great Dane sitting on the ground next to the front wheel. For just a moment, Amy Lynn's eyes met those of the blonde and she felt the chill of recognition. Then the moment had passed and the girl and her dog were far behind.   
  
At the far end of town, her mother pulled into the driveway of a large wooden structure in better condition then most. A second story rose from the back and in the distance, she could see a hill and what looked like a mansion atop it. A mule was grazing on some grass near the front door and regarded them with curious indifference before returning to grazing.   
  
The front door opened and an elderly white-haired man dressed in a white lab coat and overalls over a plaid work shirt came bustling out, grinning broadly.  
  
"Janice!" He cried out grabbing her mom in a huge bear hug. "It's good to lay these old eyes on you once again."  
  
"Hello, Arthur," her mom replied, returning the hug. "It's good to see you too." She indicated Amy Lynn, who obediently came around the car. "And this is Amy Lynn."  
  
Doctor Jackson hugged her as well. He smelled of apples...and some kind of sterilization chemicals.  
  
Her mother handed her a twenty. "Go down to the general store, dear, buy yourself some pop and a snack." She turned back to Doctor Jackson. "I'm looking forward to this, Arthur."  
  
"Not much to look forward to, I'm afraid," Doctor Jackson replied. "Most injuries the people prefer to treat themselves, even severed limbs."  
  
"Surely you're exaggerating, Arthur."  
  
"I wish. You're not going to see many patients and the few you do see are usually from Black Mountain Plantation where they have a little more sense than to treat an injury by drinking more beer."  
  
They vanished inside, leaving Amy Lynn on her own.  
  
*****************  
  
The general store lay in the middle of town, a ramshackle old building with a neon "open" sign that was half burnt out in the window.  
  
The painted sign on the front read "OSA P General Store" in green and gold letters that had been faded by the sun. A tall, blond-haired man wearing a white apron, jeans and an old T-shirt was sweeping the front walk and he gave her a friendly smile as she went past.  
  
A Great Dane lay on the front the porch, and its ears flicked as she made her way up the steps. Now that she was closer and could get a better look, she realized that a small scar, shaped like a crescent moon, adorned the dog's forehead. Amy Lynn held out her hand for the dog to sniff and when it didn't growl at her, she scratched its head between the ears before heading inside.  
  
Inside were a few unoccupied tables, shelves of groceries, and a long L-shaped counter with faded red leather stools. Sitting at the far end, a blonde-haired girl was perched on one of the stools, chewing on a long blade of grass. Behind the counter, a brown-haired girl leaned against the back counter, arms crossed talking quietly to the blonde-haired girl. Another brown-haired girl, perhaps twelve or thirteen was stacking cans on a floor display.  
  
"Welcome to the O Sap general store," the girl behind the counter said. Her voice was slightly nasal, with a New Yorkish accent. "What can I get you?"  
  
"Something cold," Amy Lynn replied, taking a seat on one of the stools.  
  
"How about a Root-Beer float?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
The girl grabbed a glass from under the counter, opened another cupboard, which was revealed to be a small freezer, and took out a tub of ice cream, which she began to spoon liberally into the mug. "So where you from?" she asked.  
  
"Saint Paul, Minnesota," Amy Lynn replied. "We just arrived."  
  
"Arrived? You're moving here?"  
  
"Yes, my mom is a doctor. She's taking over as town doctor when the old one retires."  
  
"Ah." She turned to the soda fountain and began adding root beer. "We've been wondering when she'd get here." She set the glass on the counter in front of Amy Lynn. "Go tell Mister Peters he owes my mom twenty bucks," she called to the girl stacking cans. "Doctor's arrived." The girl nodded and ran out.  
  
"You bet on when my mom would get here?"  
  
"Nope. Mister Peters did. Bets on everything, that man. Mom's the only one willing to take his bets." She held out her hand. "It's good to see another transplant to this burg. I'm Molly."  
  
"Amy Lynn," Amy Lynn replied, shaking the offered hand.  
  
"And that's Serena Usagi Ann Tsukino," Molly said, indicating the blonde as Amy Lynn realized that it was the same girl she had seen sitting on the roof of the truck. "But every one calls her Bunny."  
  
Bunny was slender and her white shirt and raggedy jean shorts hugged her generous curves tightly. An old, dirt-spotted work shirt was over the white shirt and her feet were covered by work boots. The white shirt had been tied under her breasts to show off a flat midriff tight enough to bounce a quarter off of and her arms were leanly muscled. As Bunny turned at the sound of her name, her work shirt moved and Amy Lynn caught sight of the handle of a machete on her far side. For some reason, Amy Lynn felt an irrational surge of jealousy that Bunny looked far better then her.  
  
Molly, on the other hand, was shorter, but more slender. Her shoulders were narrow and her face freckled. Her shoulder length brown hair parted in a widow's peak over her forehead and she wore a light blue shirt with the sleeves cut off and jeans under a starched white apron.  
  
Amy Lynn took a sip of the float and smiled. The ice cream and root beer was cold, and felt good as it slid down her throat.  
  
*****************  
  
Entry #120  
  
We arrived in Juuban Hollow today. It's a really small place with not much to do. Molly, whose mom runs the general store and her friend Bunny showed me around for a while before Bunny got into a screaming fight with one of the deputies. Molly says they've known each other for years and that Deputy Shields likes to tease Bunny outrageously. Juuban Hollow looks to be very quaint and picturesque. A typical Southern small town.  
  
I lie. This place is horrible. The library's books are out of date-it's not even really a library, it's a room in the house of this old widow who lends books out to read.   
  
Worst of all, there's not even any cellular service so my wireless modem won't work. Which means I have to go through an online service and the only one in town is...is...USA NetConnect. I'll be laughed off the net when the theoretical physics forum finds out.  
  
I HATE THIS PLACE! 


	2. Finding the father

Something dark, glowing, and emaciated to the point of see-through skin, looked down at itself and said, "Ooooohhhh... dear... I seem to be missing some things. Fancy those not preserving. Excuse me, miss, you wouldn't happen to have a robe handy, would you?" -Bishonen Muyo OAV#1  
  
###  
  
Amy Lynn went to bed at around ten at night and rose with the sun. It was, she had concluded some time ago, the most efficient use of her time. She did not waste time lying in bed, but rather immediately gathered her things and marched down the hall to the tub, which she filled with water. Dipping her finger in the water, she held it there for a moment. Roughly sixty five degrees, she decided. It was not yet hot enough for the ground, and therefore the pipes in it, to retain heat overnight. Perfect, she decided, and pulled off her sleepwear.  
  
Ten minutes later, she was out and towel drying her hair. Not bothering with a robe, she walked back to her room and donned underclothes, a t-shirt and jean shorts. Returning to the bathroom, she picked up her hair brush and went to work on her hair.  
  
Amy Lynn's hair was bobbed. It covered her head, didn't get in her eyes, and quite frankly, that's all one should expect from hair.  
  
Normally, she would have been done in thirty seconds, but today she paused, and examined herself critically in the mirror. Her hair was black, but in bright light, it seemed to turn blue. Her face had once been described as "like a doll's". Her skin was pale, setting off her blue eyes. Her jaw was slightly square, a legacy of her father, judging by the one picture she had of him and the few times she had seen him after her parents' breakup.  
  
Pulling off her shirt, she turned sideways and examined her profile in the mirror. She was in reasonably good shape. Walking everywhere, especially through snow in the winter time back in Saint Paul had seen to that, but she lacked the curved, yet firm tightness of Bunny. Again, she felt the irrational surge of jealousy.  
  
"But then again," her rational mind pointed out, "Bunny was raised on a farm and as such, her figure came from a lifetime of hard work that no reasonable exercise program could duplicate." She would never look like that and there was little point in worrying about it.  
  
Amy Lynn pulled her shirt back on, finished her hair and walked down the hall to the kitchen. The front door was open, and dishes were on the counter.   
  
On the table she found a note from her mother which explained that she was out making rounds with Doctor Jackson and would not be back until late that afternoon. The note also instructed her to unpack her room, the kitchen, and the living room. They would assemble the furniture that evening.  
  
Amy Lynn sighed and reached for the cereal.  
  
*****************  
  
She had just finished breakfast when there was a knock at the door. Going to see who it was, she found herself face to face with Molly and Bunny. Both girls wore T-shirts and jeans, Molly had on sneakers, and Bunny wore work boots and what appeared to the same work shirt she had on yesterday. Amy Lynn also noted that the "machete" was actually a very large knife.  
  
"Hey," Bunny said with a grin. "Moll and I were gonna go down to the creek an do some fishin, an we thought mebbe you'd like ta come along."  
  
"It sounds interesting, but I have to unpack. The movers arrived yesterday evening and the furniture needs to be assembled."  
  
"You need some help?"  
  
"Well, yeah, I-"  
  
"Great!" Bunny dashed down the stairs, there was the sound of a car or truck door slamming and then she returned with a box of tools. "Where's the furniture?"  
  
Wordlessly, Amy Lynn pointed at the stack of boxes in a group in the living room.  
  
"That's furniture?" Molly asked as Bunny whipped out her knife and opened up one of the boxes.  
  
"Mom likes to buy furniture that can be assembled and disassembled at will," Amy Lynn replied. "I think it's a habit she picked up in the Army."  
  
"C'mon," Molly said with a grin. "Let's get ta work."  
  
*****************  
  
While neither Amy Lynn nor her mother were mechanically inept, Bunny's affinity with tools was astounding. In the space of three hours, the blond had already put together both couches and the large computer desk. Even now, she was humming to herself as she used a screwdriver to put together the first of several bookcases.   
  
In her room, Molly and Amy Lynn were slowly emptying boxes.  
  
"Who's the guy?" Molly asked, studying an eight by ten framed photo. In it, Doctor Anderson and a handsome man with a shock of white hair were smiling for the camera.  
  
"My dad," Amy Lynn replied, taking the photo from Molly. "He and Mom divorced when I was five because he was gay. This is the only picture I have of him. Mom destroyed the others and fought like mad to limit his visitation rights." Amy Lynn ran a finger over the image. "I've seen him only three times in the last ten years and the last time was almost six years ago."  
  
"I'm sorry," Molly said, more out of feeling the need to say something than anything else.  
  
"Sometimes, I wish things could be different. I love them both, but Mom goes into hysterics if I so much as mention him." Amy Lynn took the frame and placed it up on the shelf of her closet and closed the door. For a moment, she stayed like that, and then sighed and turned to face Molly. "What else is in that box?"  
  
*****************  
  
By one, the trio had finished unpacking and placed the furniture more or less where Amy Lynn thought her mother would want them. Janice Anderson was a creature of habit, and the second story apartment was similar in terms of layout to their condo back in Saint Paul.  
  
"C'mon," Bunny said. "Let's go fishing."  
  
And so, having no way to gracefully refuse, Amy Lynn left a note for her mother and followed Bunny and Molly down the steps to where a Great Dane--the same Great Dane that Amy Lynn had seen at the general store yesterday--sat beside an old pickup truck that had to be a good twenty or thirty years old. The maker's logo was written across the grille in dirt-covered chrome and the truck's colors were red and patches of primer gray. The back window had several stickers on it, but she couldn't see what they said. A dirty pink rabbit hung from the rearveiw mirror.  
  
Bunny placed the toolbox behind the seat and rubbed the dog's head. "This is Luna," the blonde said to Amy Lynn. "Luna, this is Amy Lynn."  
  
Luna held out her paw, which after a moment, Amy Lynn shook.  
  
"Creepy, aint it?" Molly whispered as Luna clambered up the rear wheel and into the truck bed. "Sometimes I swear that dog understands everything we say."  
  
"All aboard," Bunny said as she got in. Molly and Amy Lynn got in on the other side. Molly in the middle, Amy Lynn by the window. Immediately, she began to feel around for the seatbelt.  
  
"You have a driver's license?" Amy Lynn asked as Bunny turned the key in the ignition and the engine growled to life.   
  
Bunny grinned cheerfully. "Nope." She stomped on the clutch and shoved the shift backwards, forcing Amy Lynn to grab whatever she could to keep from flying forward and banging her head on the dashboard. "No seatbelts, neither," she continued, seeing Amy Lynn now franticly looking around. "Pa cut them out. Said we didn't need 'em." Wrenching the wheel, she swerved the truck onto the road, shifted again, and floored the accelerator.  
  
*****************  
  
Bunny's driving skill seemed to be best described as "Pick a direction and try not to hit anything. Oh, and use of the brake is forbidden." For fifteen minutes, the truck bounced, rattled and jerked across the fields. Several times, at least during the time when Amy Lynn could still think through the fog of sheer terror, the wheels actually left the surface of the Earth as Bunny steered it one-handed over the grassy fields at speeds better suited for high-speed aircraft. The entire trip, she kept up a stream of chatter about anything and everything; livestock, produce, even the weather. Occasionally, she would gesture with one or both hands, even looking away from the windshield, but always looking back and grabbing the wheel just in time, it seemed, to avert disaster. Finally, she brought the truck to a screeching halt at the top of a small hill.  
  
"We're here!" Bunny said and turned to look at her passengers.   
  
Molly looked slightly queasy, but Amy Lynn was sitting stiffly, her face white as a sheet and an expression of sheer terror on her face. Her hands were white knuckled as they held onto the edge of the seat in a death grip.  
  
"Amy Lynn?" Molly asked, touching her arm. With a shriek, Amy Lynn jumped, slamming her head into the roof and then grabbing it in pain.  
  
"Where...the hell...did you learn to drive?" Amy Lynn said between clenched teeth as she gripped her head as though if she didn't, it would crack open like an oyster.  
  
"Pa taught me. 'Course, I don't drive recklessly like he does."  
  
Amy Lynn let out a whimper.  
  
*****************  
  
"Feeling better?" Molly asked as she took the canteen of water from Amy Lynn.  
  
"Yes,"ÊAmy Lynn replied as she leaned against the side of the truck. The two girls were sitting side by side on the ground. "I'm glad you had you had those headache pills with you." Nearby, Bunny knelt in the dirt beside a bush, digging with a trowel.  
  
"Oh, I carry them everywhere," Molly replied. "Especially when I go fishing with her. Bunny's a good person, but she tends ta drive like she's in that car on Knight Rider. Still, you won't find a better friend anywhere."  
  
"How can she drive like that?"  
  
"Around here, you learn to drive as soon as your feet can reach the pedals, and as long as you don't hit anything or anyone, nobody cares," Molly replied with a shrug. "Personally, I prefer to stick with my dirt bike. Think you can stand?"  
  
"Yes," Amy Lynn replied as she stood on shaky legs.  
  
"Hey, guys!" Bunny called. "I found some worms, we got bait!"  
  
"Don't worry," Molly said. "You get used to her driving eventually." Together they walked over to where Bunny was waiting.  
  
They spent the rest of the afternoon fishing. No fish were caught, but Amy Lynn did get a rather nasty sunburn and a stern lecture from her mother about skin care.  
  
*****************  
  
Molly proved to be correct and as the days became weeks, Amy Lynn got used to Bunny's haphazard driving. Often, the trip was just into town, and the two girls spent time in the general store, listening to the town's old men argue and swap stories as they sat on front porch. She even got to meet Rayelene Hino, daughter of the county judge, who lived with her grandather, who was the preacher at the local church.  
  
Rayelene's grandfather was a tiny man, scarely over five feet tall, but he had a boisterous laugh, and you couldn't help but like him. He and Amy Lynn spent several hours one day debating physics theories--a debate he won, much to Amy Lynn's chagrin.  
  
Rayelene, on the other hand, was intense as the heat from a raging fire, which tended to set teeth on edge, especially Bunny's. According to Molly, the two depised each other with an almost unholy passion and whenever they were together, you could cut the tension with a knife.  
  
Current odds were three to one that Raylene and Bunny would come to blows by Christmas and five to one that Bunny would use her knife.  
  
More interesting to Amy Lynn, however, were the rumors of a blond-haired woman who roamed the woods near the lake whenever the moon was in the night sky accompanied by a black-haired wolf, searching for something. When she asked Molly and Bunny about it, however, neither one could tell her anything.   
  
Later, when Amy Lynn gave it some thought, she realized Bunny had looked a little worried and even uncomfortable. The next day, however, a heat wave struck and Amy Lynn forgot all about it.  
  
Several weeks later, school started and Juuban Hollow's forty-five or so children, ranging in age from six to seventeen, gathered in the school house, a dilapidated scructure on a hill west of town. It was a single room and run by Miss Haruna, a tall, imposing woman whose manner was almost as intense as Rayelene's.  
  
After Amy Lynn, two other new students were introduced. One was Mina, a hyper blond girl whose hair was tied with a red ribbon. In several ways, she reminded Amy Lynn of Bunny. The second student was Lita, a tall, amazon-like girl who looked as though she could lift the schoolhouse off its foundation if she felt like it.  
  
Once Mina and Lita had taken their seats, Miss Haruna got down to business. "The state says that this year, those of you who are aged fourteen through seventeen have to study the life cycle of plants and animals. The folks over at Black Mountain Plantation have agreed to let us use their facilities as part of this. So starting in two weeks, class will meet two days a week at Black Mountain where you will spend the day tending and careing for a small herd of sheep, twenty four head of cattle, and a small, one-acre field of various plants, including cotton. At the end of the school year, I expect each of you to tell the class what you learned." A few groans and complaints were heard throughout the room. "I know most of you have have spent your lives raising plants and animals which is why I expect A's all around as you will help the others with what you know. Any questions? No? Good. Open your math books and turn to page fifty-one."  
  
As Amy Lynn did so, she noticed two things.  
  
The books had been printed nearly forty years ago.  
  
They would be studying Long Division.  
  
"Oh, no..." Amy Lynn whispered.  
  
*****************  
  
Black Mountain Plantation was a huge estate that covered most of the county east of Juuban Hollow. The main house, was in fact the mansion Amy Lynn had seen when she and her mother first arrived in town. The owner, Ms Abagail Beryldane, was a recluse and her four managers did most of the work.   
  
Amy Lynn sighed and pulled on her work gloves. The brown leather was shiny, having been purchased the previous day from the OSA-P. Amy Lynn was wearing a straw hat to keep the sun off her face and neck, one of Bunny's work shirts, old jeans, and a pair of work boots with paper in the toes to make them fit. The boots had been left in the clinic by a previous paitent. For a moment she reflected that the only thing of hers that she was wearing was her hat, gloves, underwear and socks.  
  
The students, about twelve or so in all, trudged along the dirt path towards the large brown field. Green sprouts could be seen forming rows in the brown dirt.  
  
At one edge, Ms Haruna stood with a man dressed in a white, button-down shirt, and kahkis. His white hair was tied back in a ponytail and his smile was friendly.  
  
"Class I want you to meet Michael White. He's-" she broke off as Amy Lynn gasped and then loudly exclaimed;   
  
"Dad?"  
  
*****************  
  
Father and daughter stood at the edge of the field that Black Mountain had loaned to the students, watching them move through the rows as plantation employees described each of the plants and how to care for them. One or two of the workers made Amy Lynn nervous in the way they moved, like they were shells wrapped around something...else.  
  
"Amy Lynn...I'm sorry, if I had known you were coming to Juuban Hollow, I would've called, come by...done...something."  
  
"It's okay, Dad. Mom wouldn't have come if she knew you were here. We got to see each other again. That's what's important, right?"  
  
Michael smiled. "Right. How are things?"  
  
"Good...great...actually," Amy Lynn lied. "I've made a few friends and Juuban Hollow is very different from Saint Paul. I just wish it wasn't so hot." She stared out at the field for a few moments and then sighed. "Why does Mom hate you so much?" It was abrupt, but the question had been weighing on Amy Lynn's mind for years, ever since she was old enough to understand what homosexuality was.  
  
"Because she doesn't understand. Janice has a very simple view of things. I think it's because she was raised here in Juuban Hollow. Homosexuality is a strange word to these people. Some have probably never even heard of it."  
  
"But Mom's a scientist. A doctor. She's not supposed to have prejudices. Isn't that part of the Hippocratic Oath?"  
  
Micheal laughed softly. "Janice never let her prejudices and opinions get in the way of doing her job. I think that's why I fell for her in the first place. I remember when you were about three, a few years before I discovered...what I was. I took you and a picnic lunch down to the Emergency Room where she was on duty. As she was getting ready to go off duty, the doors opened and an ambulance crew rushed in bearing Leslie McDaniels, the president of the local chapter of the Gay and Lesbian support group, who was bleeding to death. Right then and there, Janice dropped everything to tend to her. Without her skill, McDaniels would have died right there in the lobby of the ER. That night, you turned to me and said 'Daddy, I want to be a doctor when I grow up.'"  
  
"I don't remember that," Amy Lynn said softly. "All I remember is the fighting and then you left."  
  
"I know," Michael said he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'd give anything to change that, but I can't."  
  
Another man dressed in a blue shirt and khakis walked up to them. He had short blond hair, a pointed chin and the coldest eyes Amy Lynn had ever seen.   
  
It was as though there was nothing behind those blue orbs. "This is Jeddadiah Wright," Michael said. "He's currently in charge of the Plantation's permanent work force. Jed, this my daughter, Amy Lynn."  
  
"A pleasure," Jeddadiah said perfucntorily. His handshake was very stiff. "Her teacher, while pleased that she has been reunited with her father, would like it if she began her project."  
  
"Of course." Michael gave his daughter a hug. "I'll drive you home tonight, and talk to your mother. Maybe we can work something out."  
  
"I'd like that." Amy Lynn said softly and walked back towards her friends.  
  
"You're fooling yourself," Jeddadiah said. "Once we find Empreya's trinket, the Queen will slaughter her and the rest of the humans in this valley like pigs. You really think you can save her?"  
  
"Shut up, Jeddite," Malachite snarled. 


	3. Rise of Ice

"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars." - Garrison Keillor in Salon.com  
  
**************  
  
Amy Lynn was not the sort to make mistakes. She carefully analyzed each decision she made with the utmost logic and care. Invariably they turned out to be correct.  
  
"You're a pervert!"  
  
"I didn't decide to be gay!"  
  
"You married me, for God's sake! You obviously like women, so how the hell can you stand there and tell me you didn't decide to be gay?!"  
  
In her room, sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest, door ajar as she listened to her parents scream at each other, Amy Lynn privately admitted to herself that taking her father up on his offer might have been a mistake.  
  
"This isn't about me, Janice! This is about Amy Lynn! She needs both her parents. Whatever else I may do, she's still my daughter and I want to be part of her life!"  
  
"She's my daughter, Michael! You gave up all those rights ten years ago!"  
  
"Not the right to be part of her life! I agreed that you'd get sole custody not because I didn't care, but because you're a hell of a lot better at being a parent then I am. I don't know the first thing about raising kids! But I didn't give up on the right to be a father! You sent back every letter, card, birthday and Christmas gift I ever mailed to her. You shut me out of her life, Janice. You!'  
  
"She's not becoming a degenerate pig like you! I refuse to let her be swept into your disgusting little world!"  
  
"I'm not trying to sweep her into anything! I just want to be part of her life! I want to be her father!"  
  
"Her father?!!" Her mother's scream rose to a high pitch and with two fingers, Amy Lynn shut her door, unable to listen anymore. Crawling over to her bed, she climbed in, curled up in a ball and cried for quite some time, before eventually falling into a dreamless sleep.   
  
**************  
  
Sighing to himself, Malachite entered the small cabin on the plantation grounds that he shared with, Zoicite. His clothes fading away to be replaced with his general's uniform as he dismissed the illusions that allowed him to walk amongst humans. The changes were subtle, but significant. His skin darkened to almost black, ears were more pointed and the planes of his face more angular. His eyes took on an almost inhuman silver sheen. In ancient times, they had called them Sidhe, later on they had called them Dark Elves and in both cases, they had been spoken of with fear.  
  
He sighed again. It had been too long since he had... he pushed the conclusion of his meeting with Janice out of his mind. She had agreed to let him spend time with Amy Lynn, that was the important thing, everything else was irrelevant.  
  
Moving into the bedroom, he began to remove his cape, giving only a brief glance to Zoicite, who lay on the bed, naked. "Hello, Love," Malachite said absently, hanging his cape up.  
  
Zoicite said nothing. Turning to look at the bed, Malachite realized his lover was staring at him with a strange expression.  
  
"Jeddite told me about your meeting," the younger man said. "A family?" The younger man slid off the bed and came over to Malachite. "You never told me about a family."  
  
"A remnant of my human life," Malachite said, undoing the collar of his jacket. "Nothing to worry about."  
  
"Good, good," Zoicite said, leaning against him. "I'll talk to Jeddite and the next youma will be sure to pay them a special visit. They'll be dead in--URK!"  
  
With a speed fueled by anger that in retrospect would terrify him with its intensity, Malachite's hand shot out and grabbed the other man's neck. Real fear filled Zoicite's eyes as he grabbed Malachite's wrist, trying to release the pressure on his windpipe. "Not a finger will be laid on them," the white-haired general said very softly. "Remnant or not, my blood flows in the child's veins." Dark Energy crackled across Malachite's fingertips, energy that could turn Zoicite's head into a pulp and was restrained only by Malachite's will. "Listen to me, Zoicite, until I determine the child's powers, if any, she and her mother will remain alive and unharmed." Malachite tightened his grip. "Understand me?"  
  
"Y-yes!" Zoicite gasped out.  
  
"Good." Malachite released him and continued undressing. "Now let's go to bed, shall we?"  
  
**************  
  
The next night, an hour or so after her mother had gone to bed, Amy Lynn sat at her desk constructing a subspace transciever out of an old ham radio, some short wave receivers, and one of the CB sets she had found in the clinic's garage. The one TV station she could get in Juuban Hollow had run a Next Generation Marathon the other night and the show's repeated use of subspace had piqued her interest.  
  
It was then that she took notice a rattling sound against her window. Curious, she set down the improvised soldering iron and went to see what was making the noise.  
  
Standing on the ground was Bunny, Luna by her side. "I'm goin' possum huntin'," the blonde called. "Wanna come? Molly said her mother needs her ta unpack a delivery."   
  
Amy Lynn gave the transceiver a glance. There would be time enough later and she didn't want to turn down a friend. "Okay."   
  
A few minutes later, she left the house and crept down the stairs wearing the work shirt and jeans Bunny had loaned her for the farming assignment, and the boots.  
  
Stealthily, the two made their way to the road where Bunny's truck was parked and climbed in. For once, Bunny did not drive in her usual fashion...not until they had left town, anyway.  
  
At least she turned on the headlights.  
  
**************  
  
At the very edge of the woods, Bunny parked the truck and grinned at Amy Lynn, who seemed a bit pale, but otherwise okay.  
  
"How do you hunt 'possums?" Amy Lynn asked, trying not to think of what she had just been through.  
  
Bunny grinned and reached behind the seat. "With this." She drew out an old, but well maintained rifle. Amy Lynn knew about guns, her mother being a servicewoman and all, but had never actually used one before.  
  
Reaching back behind the seat, Bunny removed a roll of duct tape, a backpack, a pair of flashlights, a box of bullets, and two pistols, which she loaded with bullets she took out of her shirt pocket. She tucked one into the waistband of her shorts and the other one she handed to Amy Lynn. Then she turned on one of the flashlights and taped it to the rifle. "C'mon."  
  
Copying Bunny, albeit nervously, Amy Lynn tucked the pistol into her jeans and grabbed the flashlight. With Luna in the lead, the two girls set off into the woods.  
  
**************  
  
Amy Lynn was no stranger to the wilderness. You couldn't grow up in Minnesota and not be familiar with it, but this was different for some reason. Maybe it was the lack of a campfire and conversation, or maybe it was the just she was in a different place. She had heard stories on the net about strange things you'd find if you went far enough into the American South. Old Native American relics, cursed places, witches, and places where slaves had died in the most brutal fashion possible and their ghosts still lurked, waiting for anyone foolish enough to trespass into their grief.  
  
Then of course, there were the modern bogeymen. Space aliens, crazy old men and secret societies. Of them all, Amy Lynn was worried only about the hermits who might be out in the woods and the pistol in her jeans did nothing to lessen that worry. As she and Bunny made their way through the woods, Amy Lynn found herself coming up with scenarios, battle plans, and escape routes.  
  
While on her last Girl Scout campout (the troop had folded a month later thanks to a penguin named Bill) Amy Lynn had met an old woman who sold dream catchers up by Lake Tskykeputchy in Minnesota. The woman had been normal in every respect except that she was convinced that the rocks in a small pond several miles into the woods had teeth and that their bite changed you into a half plant, half animal creature not unlike a demented squirrel. She claimed when she was a little girl, she had watched her entire class change and then run off into the woods. That encounter had sparked a brief interest in American myths. In the space of a week, Amy Lynn devoured every book on it in both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Public libraries.  
  
"There's not much you c'n do wit possums, 'course," Bunny said, breaking into Amy Lynn's thoughts. "Ma has a recipe for possum stew, but without a decent tater ta toss in there, it don't taste vera good. Gotta admit though, ain't nuthin better then some warm possum gloves when it gets cold."  
  
"I've never used a gun before," Amy Lynn said.  
  
"Guns is easy," Bunny said, pulling her own pistol. "See this?" She indicated the barrel of the pistol with the barrel of her rifle. "Point this at whatcha wanna shoot, and then pull this thingy here." She curled her finger around the trigger. "Nuthin simpler." She shoved the pistol back into her shorts.  
  
At that moment, Luna stiffened and then growled, staring off into the woods. "A possum?" Amy Lynn said, reaching for her pistol.  
  
"Ain't sure," Bunny said, an odd note in her voice as she switched off the flashlight taped to the rifle. "You stay here. C'mon Luna." With that, she and Luna disappeared into the trees.  
  
Several minutes passed, then from the direction Bunny had gone, Amy Lynn heard a blood-chilling roar.  
  
Without a second thought, she gripped her pistol and ran in the direction Bunny had gone.  
  
**************  
  
She had only gone perhaps a few hundred feet when she came upon a clearing which held a large pond at its center. In it, a woman dressed in clothes that seemed to made from moonlight battled a monster out of nightmares. It was at least eight feet tall, with a birdlike beak and three eyes in a triangle. It's skin was green and knobby, and claws sprouted from its four-fingered hands. It's hair was long and green and ram's horns sprouted from the side of its head.  
  
The woman was dressed in a one piece white gown that came to her knees with a belt made out of silver mesh around her waist. A tiara encircled her forehead and her hair came down past her shoulders, which were protected by golden plates. Her calves were covered by golden yellow shin guards and she wore heavy boots. Golden bands encircled her wrists and she carried a sword in each hand, the one in her left longer and heavier then the one in her right. Behind the monster, a great black wolf circled, lunging in to try and sink its teeth into the monster's hamstring.  
  
With a backhand swipe, the monster slammed the woman against a tree and then moved in for what had to be a kill.  
  
With a boldness that surprised her, Amy Lynn stepped out of the trees and aimed the pistol at the monster. She pulled the trigger several times, each one causing the monster to stagger. Then, suddenly, instead of the sound of gunfire, she heard only a faint clicking.  
  
Uh-Oh.  
  
Amy Lynn turned and ran back into the trees, only to be sent flying as the ground exploded underneath her. Grunting, she hit the dirt path, bouncing and rolling for several more feet before carefully picking herself up as behind her, she heard another roar.  
  
"Amy Lynn!" An woman's voice said. Amy Lynn looked around. There was no one around. "Amy Lynn!" came the woman's voice again. "Over here." Looking in the direction of the voice, she found herself face to face with the great black wolf she had seen moments earlier. A crescent moon flared brightly on it's forehead and it was though a veil had been lifted from Amy Lynn's eyes. The wolf became Luna and with a horrified start, she realized the woman in white back in the clearing had been Bunny.  
  
"L-Luna? What's-"  
  
"There's no time!" Luna snapped. "You have to help the Moon Priestess."  
  
"Help? How?" Amy Lynn asked, faintly aware that she was having a conversation with a dog and must therefore be losing her mind.  
  
Using her snout, Luna rolled something across the dirt to her. "With this."  
  
"What is it?" Amy Lynn asked, her fingertips tingling slightly as she picked it up. It was colored ice blue, about the size of a writing pen, slightly thicker, and topped with a loop of gold. Inside the loop was a thin slab of crystal.  
  
"Never mind that!" Luna half-shouted. "Hold it up and say, 'Mercury, Grant Me Strength'  
  
Amy Lynn did as she was told. "Mercury, Grant Me Strength!" Cold, wonderful cold rushed into her and she felt her clothes vanishing and more cold sliding over her limbs and body like velvet. When it cleared, she was wearing a bodysuit that covered her torso and neck, but not her arms and legs. Blue boots covered her feet and white gloves covered her forearms. The exposed part of her arms and legs was covered with a light blue fabric that she instinctively knew was light as air and harder then any metal. A tiara encircled her forehead and from it hung a tinted blue visor. A continuous stream of data ran up the right side and in her hand she held a sword.  
  
She looked back at the clearing, her feet twitched and then she was back at the clearing's edge, the wind of her movement fading. The monster had Bunny pressed up against a tree with one hand and had the other hand raised to administer the killing blow. It regarded her for a moment, and then looked back at Bunny.  
  
Raising her hand, Amy Lynn fired four ice spikes, one from each fingertip, which flew across the clearing and sank into the creature's hide. Roaring, it tossed Bunny aside like a rag doll and lunged for her, only to smash into a tree as its target darted aside. Like a whip, her sword flicked out, leaving a gouge as large as a man's arm in the beast's side. She raised the sword high to bring it downon its neck, when it's arm moved, striking her hard and sending her to crash down next to Bunny.  
  
"Who?" Bunny asked, trying to stand.  
  
"Never mind that!" Amy Lynn said as the monster leapt high into the air. "Roll!"  
  
They rolled in opposite directions, the monster landing where they had been, dirt flying as its impact left behind a crater. Rising from its crouch, the monster began to move towards Amy Lynn slowly, it's breathing ragged.  
  
Standing, she reached out to the cold of the pond and called it forth, encasing the monster in a block of ice. Her hand tightened into a fist...  
  
And everything went white as the loud roar of an explosion filled her ears.  
  
When she could see again, she was lying on her back in some bushes, staring up at the stars through a gap in the trees. Then Bunny, dressed in her usual clothes, loomed over her. "You okay, Amy Lynn?"  
  
"B-bunny? What happened?"  
  
"There's no time for that!" Luna snapped. She pointed to the bushes with her nose. "Look!"  
  
Peering through the bushes, Amy Lynn saw that they overlooked a huge crater. It was a good twenty or thirty feet deep and perhaps two or three hundred feet wide. The clearing and the pond had been obliterated.  
  
A group of trucks were nearby, some marked with the insignia of Black Mountain Plantation. In the light of one set of headlights, she saw her father and mother standing side by side talking with another man that she vaguely recalled being pointed out as the county sheriff and the tall black-haired young deputy she recalled Bunny arguing with during that first day.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Luna whispered. "Bunny's truck will be heard if it starts up and there's no way to push it out of here without being seen."  
  
"We face the music then," Amy Lynn said softly. Going back to where she had been laying, she picked up her pistol and tucked it into her jeans, pulling the work shirt into position to hide it.  
  
"Amy Lynn, you shore 'bout this?" Bunny asked.  
  
"No. But Mom probably knows I'm not in bed by now, I'll get yelled at either way. Here or at home. Here, she might be a little less loud about it." With that, Amy Lynn stepped boldly through the bushes and crouched at the edge of the crater. Here she could see the sides were smooth like glass and cold to the touch. It wasn't ice, but not glass either. It seemed almost like crystal.  
  
"And what do you think you're doing here, young lady?" Standing, Amy Lynn faced her mother. Doctor Anderson had thrown some pants and her white lab coat on over her nightgown, which had been tucked into the pants and strapped to her hip was the black metal of her service pistol.  
  
"Mah fault, Doc," Bunny said stepping up beside Amy Lynn. "Ah invited Amy Lynn to go possum huntin wit me and we heard the explosion. Wut happened here anyways?"  
  
"Catch anything, Buns?" asked the dark-haired deputy.  
  
"Shut yor mouth, Shields, 'fore I shuts for ya!" Bunny snapped. "An don't call me Buns!"  
  
"But it suits you so well."  
  
Bunny's faced turned red with anger.  
  
"Mom, what did happen here?" Amy Lynn asked, hoping to divert her mother's attention from the fact that she was out and about. "It looks like an impact crater."  
  
"That's what we thought," said a gravely voice. Turning, Amy Lynn saw a tall man with a mane of brown hair. He wore a green T-shirt and black pants. "But the sides are too smooth, and too cool. He smiled at Amy Lynn. "Nathan Johnson."  
  
"Amy Lynn Anderson."  
  
"Like what?" Doctor Anderson asked, stepping forward. "I've been in this nation's military since the day after I graduated High school and in all that time, I've seen every kind of explosion and impact crater there is." She jabbed her finger at thecrater. "And questions of explosives or metors aside, gentlemen, believe me when I say that neither one accounts for the crystal lining."  
  
"Mebbe it was spacemen," ventured a man standing nearby. "Or demons or somethin."  
  
"There's no such thing as any of those, Mister Furnuckle," Doctor Anderson said stiffly. She faced the sheriff. "If you'll excuse me Myron, there appears to be no need for my services and I must take my daughter home. I'll meet you back here in the morning."  
  
"Shore thing, Janice," the Sheriff said absently, scratching his head as he stared into the crater.  
  
"Come along, Dear," Doctor Anderson said stiffly. Amy Lynn sighed and handed the pistol back to Bunny, which made Doctor Anderson's nostrils pinch with barely supressed fury, and then followed her mother to the car.  
  
**************  
  
For the second time in as many days, Malachite was angry and the dark power in him was practically begging to be released.  
  
Jeddite grunted as he hit the wall, propelled against it by the raw power bolt Malachite threw at him.  
  
"You...idiot," Malachite seethed. "What in the hells possessed you to give a youma that much power? Now the humans are going to be getting nosy. On top of that, we now have another one of those blasted Priestesses to deal with."  
  
"W-we can handle them," Jeddite gasped out as a collar of dark energy clamped around his throat.  
  
Another bolt smacked the blonde general across the face. "The goal was to find Empreya's jewel before Serenity's spell could gather all six together, Old Boy," Malachite drawled. Jeddite felt the icy hand of fear clamp his gut. Unlike the others, Malachite's anger made him calmer, almost relaxed.  
  
The words "Old Boy" spoken in a drawl, meant that he was on the edge of losing his temper...and considering that Malachite was the most powerful of the Four, that event fit nicely into the bad things catagory. Especially if you were the source of his wrath. "That way we don't have to fight them. But perhaps you missed that when we first gathered after being awakened from our human lives."  
  
"N-no, Malachite. I didn't. I just wanted to be sure we could be rid of the Moon Priestess once and for all. She's interfered enough. I honestly wasn't expecting Mercury's chosen to show up."  
  
"One more screw up, Jeddite, just one more...and I'll have your head on a pike." The collar vanished and Malachite strode out of the room.  
  
****  
  
Entry #138  
  
Mother and Father are speaking to each other...somewhat. It's a start, I guess. Got caught being out when Mom had already gone to bed. She took away my laptop for a week. I can deal with it though.  
  
Something else happened tonight. But I'm not sure I can talk about it yet.   
  
I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about it... 


	4. Rise of Fire

"7. Ami is actually completely stupid. She only acts smart. Serena is her math tutor" -The top twelve horrible secrets of the Sailor Senshi  
  
****  
  
Much has been made about the ties between faith and duty. Indeed, from a certain perspective, many of the worst crimes in history were committed because the perpetrators believed doing so was their duty as laid down by their faith, that in fact, they were doing good.  
  
While faith didn't motivate Raylene Hino to earn Bunny's wrath by dating Deputy Shields, it did bring her to the OSA-P Sunday afternoon in the course of her duty as youth minister for the Mount Ryland Baptist Church, which her grandfather presided over.  
  
Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. Her throat was parched from singing during services that morning and for some reason, the OSA-P had the best cream sodas she had ever tasted.  
  
"Aftanoon, Miss Hino," said Molly from behind the counter. "The usual?" Raylene fought down a frown and nodded as she took a seat on one of the stools.   
  
After her mother had died and her father became a county judge, he had left her in the care of his father in law who had raised his granddaughter the only way he knew how; to follow in his faith.  
  
Young Rayelene had embraced his teaching eagerly, desperate for anything to take her mind off her mother. But somewhere along the way, she found herself questioning his faith. It was as though part of her was...away...connected to something else that she couldn't put a name to. In the end, Rayelene had quit believing. But she was still the youth minister and as such, she had her duty.  
  
She put all of that aside for the moment as Molly placed the cream soda float in front of her. Raising the straw to her lips, she sucked down the clear liquid, moving her head back and forth until she had maximum suction. After a few minutes, she stuck the spoon into the slowly melting ice cream and swirled it around a bit for a few minutes while she tried to figure out the best way to broach what was on her mind.  
  
"How well do you know Amy Lynn?" Raylene asked at last.  
  
"Don't," Molly said flatly. "She's got no interest in religion, and I still don't."  
  
"But the-  
  
Molly held up a warning finger. "No. Mebbe Mom buys into that black book, but I don't. It was written by men, an' as far as I'm concerned that doesn't make it God's word." She pulled a rag out of her back pocket and began to wipe down the countertop. "Person don't need to sit in a building singin songs and listening to speeches to believe. Whole thing's useless."  
  
At that moment, from under the counter, there was the sound of something banging and muffled cursing. Something clanged and a door flew off, bouncing and sliding across the floor as smoke belched forth from the opening. The cursing became louder as somebody scrambled out, swearing sulphurlously. They stood up and staggered out from the smoke, coughing and calling upon the wrath of every deity humanity had ever worshipped in language that would make Satan go; "Well really, that's a bit rude don't you think?"  
  
To Raylene's surprise, it was Amy Lynn. After a few more minutes, she either ran out of curses or breath and fell silent. Leaning over the counter Raylene realized that Amy Lynn had emerged from the access panel that led to the wiring of the massive freezer/refrigerator unit/display case. She looked back at Amy Lynn, who was dressed in a worn mechanic's coverall. She held a monkey wrench in one hand, and her face was grease smeared.  
  
Her eyes fell on Raylene, and she smiled in greeting before turning to Molly. "It's shot, I'm afraid," she said, with no trace in her voice of the language she had been using only moments earlier. "Most of the wiring is substandard, and you've been placing more and more demands on the motor as you expand the unit."  
  
"Can ya fix it?"  
  
"I'd have to take it apart completely and even then, I make no promises."  
  
"So that's a no then?" Amy Lynn nodded and Molly uttered a few dirty words of her own. "Mom's gonna love that."  
  
Raylene, her ears burning, went to work on her drink.  
  
****  
  
The Crown Motel bore the honor of being Juuban Hollow's finest hotel. It also held the town's finest restaurant. Ed and Ned's Bar and Grill. To be fair, the sawdust on the restaurant's floor was at least somewhat fresh and the menu offered a choice between meat and more meat.  
  
Amy Lynn stared at the check inside the card her Father had just given her and then back up at him. It was her birthday and he had taken her out to dinner.  
  
"Dad...I...a blank check? You don't have--"  
  
"I want to. You're going into Lawson next week for your driver's test. The least I can do is get you a car to put your license to use in. I want you to get yourself a car you like, okay?"  
  
"I can't...Mom..."  
  
"This isn't about your mom, Honey. I know it sounds like I'm trying to buy your love or something, but I'm not."  
  
Amy Lynn stared at him. She knew he felt guilty for missing most of her life and that more then anything, he wanted to make up for lost time, but she felt that this was the wrong way to go about it. She glanced out the window. It wasn't even Halloween yet, but snow had come early to Juuban Hollow and the ground outside was covered in a white blanket. Two figures ran past, and it took her a moment to realize it was Bunny and Luna running to Bunny's truck, which was parked near the restaurant.  
  
On the other hand...  
  
Amy Lynn stared back down at the check and felt a demented smile spread across her face. "Freedom, " she whispered.  
  
****  
  
Amy Lynn grabbed the dashboard as Bunny weaved the truck in and out of the light traffic on the highway, the paper of her temporary license crinkled in the front pocket of her overalls. Luna sat on the seat between them, apparently used to Bunny's driving. There was no sign of the snowfall from last week, and Bunny drove with her usual disregard for speed limits.  
  
"This is so exciting," Bunny said, for once not taking her eyes off the road. "Your own car. How'd your mom take it?"  
  
"Hit the roof," Amy Lynn said, wincing as the truck nearly kissed the side of a convertible in the next lane, the driver responding with a series of speculations on Bunny's ancestry.  
  
"Go fuck a tailpipe!" Bunny called back cheerfully, as the distance between the cars began to widen. "You think they'll ever get along again?" She was aware of why Amy Lynn's parents had divorced, but apparently believed that the terms homosexual and gay had something to do with breeding happy monkeys.  
  
Amy Lynn had decided that it would probably be for the best not to correct her. She simply didn't have that kind of time. "I don't know," she replied, letting out a grunt as she was thrown against the door as Bunny suddenly sent the truck speeding across the lanes and down the exit ramp.  
  
"Watch it!" Luna yelled.  
  
Bunny ignored her as she took the truck through a tight curve, through a yellow light, and down a side street. After several minutes, she made another sharp turn onto a dirt road which ended at a large fenced in yard filled with cars and trucks, some barely recognizable as such. The sign over the gate read, "Jones Auto Salvage Yard. J. Jones, Propieter." As Bunny brought the truck to a screeching halt, the door to the trailer in the center of the yard opened and a large man emerged. He was stocky rather then fat, but nevertheless bore a noticeable middle. His dark hair was combed back and he carried himself with a calm sereness.  
  
"Ah, Miss Tsukino, how may I be of assistance?"  
  
"This is Amy Lynn," Bunny said. "She needs a car."  
  
"Naturally. If you'll step this way?"  
  
"No need," Bunny said. "Show her Roller."  
  
"Roller?" Amy Lynn asked.  
  
"Trust me," Bunny said. "This is the perfect car for you."  
  
"Of course," Jones said and led them around the trailer to a small lot. In the middle of the lot, was an old pickup truck. However, somebody had mounted it on large tires and then chopped off the back of the cab and added a backseat and over that, a rollbar. Then, a tarp had been tied to the back of the cab and roll bar. At one point, the truck had been a deep gold color, but the paint was now faded and chipped.   
  
"So what's the specs?" Bunny asked.  
  
"Automatic with four-wheel drive, completely rebuilt engine and new transmission. Three Thousand Dollars, including fees. Would you care to test drive it?"  
  
Five Minutes Later...  
  
Amy Lynn brought the truck to a stop back in the yard and smiled broadly at Bunny. "You're right," she said.   
  
****  
  
By the time they returned to Juuban Hollow, the sun was beginning to set. While Bunny parked her truck at the curb, Amy Lynn steered Roller onto the clinic's front lawn and parked it there. With her mom's convertible and the clinic's truck in the driveway, there was no room, and to be honest, Amy Lynn was fairly sure that no one would notice one more car parked on a lawn.  
  
"Well, I see you chose with care," Doctor Anderson said as she descended the clinic's steps. "I trust your father will be pleased that his money was invested so...wisely." Amy Lynn winced at her mother's cold sarcasm. "I know I'm ecstatic to see that you will be in such an...utilitarian vehicle."  
  
Nearby, Bunny shivered. "Ouch," she said to Luna. "I'm glad she's not my mom." Luna nodded agreement.  
  
****  
  
Malachite stood, arms crossed, as he watched Jeddite convince their queen that his latest plan was worth utilizing the Dark Kingdom's limited supply of energy, the bulk of which was directed at keeping the dimensional tear open between the pocket dimension hidden under the mountain upon which Black Mountain Plantation sat and the outer world.  
  
"And so, my Queen," Jeddite said, concluding his plan. "While the humans celebrate their version of Samhain, the youma will strike, drawing Diana and Mercury's pawns out where the reserve force will crush them. Then they will slaughter the town and we may search unimpeded."  
  
"I disagree, Highness," Malachite said before he could stop himself. "The humans will not go down easily," he continued, thinking fast, "and most of them will no doubt be armed with some sort of weapon. There is also the fact that the human military is still investigating the crater left behind by the last youma. They too, are armed and more formidably then the townsfolk. Our youma are not invincible, after all."  
  
"A good point, dear," Beryl replied, holding up the tunic she was mending to the light to check the stitching. "But I wonder, if you speak out of concern for the success of Jeddite's plan, or for your daughter, who will undoubtably be at the festival."  
  
To his credit, Malachite kept his shock off his face even as his mind raced. Jeddite had preferred not to acknowledge the fact that their blood lived in the body of a human and wouldn't have said anything to Beryl unless directly asked. Nephrite had never been told, but that didn't mean he hadn't figured it out. However, he to was not in the habit of volunteering information unless directly asked. Which meant...his eyes slid to Zoisite, who stood nearby. The younger man smirked, ever so slightly.  
  
Malachite's body turned cold with rage, and then that cold faded to be replaced by an icy numbness which then faded into a calm sereneness. He did not see Nephrite's eyes narrow. For the older man had trained Malachite and thus knew him better then anyone in the room. Malachite had just entered, what was for him, a berserker rage.  
  
"Speaking of which," Beryl continued. "Have you determined if she has inherited any sort of power?"  
  
"No," Malachite replied, his mouth moving seemingly of it's own volition, as though someone else was speaking through it. "I get flashes, brief sensations, hints of power, though nothing definite. But I believe that given time, she can be awakened. She would be a powerful ally, Queen Beryl. I promise you that she will join us or die."  
  
"That's nice, dear, but you've run out of time. Jeddite. When your youma strike, be a sweetie and make sure the child and her mother die. That will be all." Deep inside the recesses of Malachite's mind, something seemed to click.  
  
"As you command," Jeddite said, and vanished.  
  
"Now run along and finish your chores," she said to the others. The remaining generals filed out.  
  
No sooner had the doors closed behind them, then Malachite grabbed Zoisite by the throat, lifting the younger man off the floor. "Why?"  
  
"I'm doing you a favor!" Zoisite gasped. "You don't need a daughter running around."  
  
"And taking my attention away from you?" Malachite asked, struck by a sudden flash of insight. "You disgust me, Zoie." His white gloved fingers began to tighten. "You're a small minded man clinging to my boots while you formulate your self-serving plots." He smiled thinly. "I really ought to rip out your throat."  
  
"Malachite," Nephrite said, laying his hand on the white-haired General's arm. "Put him down. If you kill him, Beryl will know and then she will act against you. You don't want that, do you? Do you? Look at me, Malachite, do you really want to be put in conflict with Beryl?"  
  
"He went behind my back," Malachite replied. "That's not the sort of thing you do to someone you love." He looked up at Zoisite, who was now turning a nice shade of blue. "You do love me, don't you, Zoie?" Zoisite nodded frantically, his efforts to loosen Malachite's hold on his windpipe weakening by the second. "See? He does love me," Malachite said. There was no sign in his voice or on his face that he was in fact, in the grip of a terrible rage. "Of course, that still doesn't excuse what he did, right, Zoie?"  
  
"Gak!"  
  
Nephrite chose his next words carefully. While he had the edge in experience, Malachite possessed the raw power to tear him apart without trying and as mad as he was, there was no telling what the younger man might do. "Listen, Malachite. We need him, even if he is an underhanded weasel. Four Generals, remember the Prophecy? All Four have to be present before we can crack open our prize. Let me take care of him, okay? You go get something to eat and leave his discipline to me."  
  
"No, he's mine."  
  
"Trust your teacher, Malachite. Trust me. I will deal with him, okay?"  
  
"Very well," Malachite said, letting Zoisite fall. "But he had better be out of my cottage by the time I return from my rounds."  
  
"Naturally." Nephrite watched his pupil go and then turned to look at Zoisite. "Idiot," he said softly.  
  
****  
  
Say what you wanted about Juuban Hollow, Amy Lynn admitted to herself as she walked into Mount Ryland's courtyard, they sure knew how to throw a Halloween party.  
  
Grinning Jack O Lanterns lined the fence and the air was thick with the smell of cooked food as around her, children shouted as they ran back and forth.   
  
In the center of the yard, a huge bonfire burned, adults assiting children with the roasting of marshmellows. She paused for a moment to watch the kids bobbing for apples and then turned at the sound of her name.  
  
Molly was standing behind a makeshift counter next to another girl who was selling cans of soda. As Amy Lynn approached, Molly fished a can out and tossed it at her. "On the house," Molly called as the can thudded into Amy Lynn's hand. "Nice catch."  
  
"Five years of community softball," Amy Lynn replied.  
  
"Oh? What position?"  
  
"Shortstop."  
  
"Cool."  
  
****  
  
Janice Anderson zipped up her windbreaker and watched as the bar and the BBQ did a brisk bisinuess. Juuban Hollow's new doctor squirmed slightly as she tried to find a more comfortable way to sit on the fence. She had elected to sit here so that she could keep an eye on who was buying beer. Logic dictated that he who drank the most beer would probably also wind up needing a doctor the most by the end of the night. Arthur had assured her that she would probably only need to treat a few first degree burns, but Janice knew her fellow townsfolk and thusly, everything she'd need short of surgery had been crammed into the large black bag on the ground at her feet.  
  
"Hello, Janice."  
  
Turning her head, Janice found herself looking at a woman she had once called friend.  
  
"Pat," Janice said stiffly, her tone of voice speaking volumes.  
  
Patrica Haruna visibly flinched. "I deserved that," she said. "But Janice, you should have told me you--" she broke off as Janice held up a hand.  
  
"Don't," Janice said softly. "Just...don't..."  
  
"R--right. Janice, can we talk, teacher to parent?"  
  
"About?"  
  
"It's Amy Lynn. I'm not so sure public school is right for her. I think she would be better off at a...special school more her speed." Janice turned her head and stared daggers at Haruna.  
  
"What?" she asked softly. "Are you saying that there's something wrong with my daughter?"  
  
"Yes! I mean no! I--Damnit, Janice, she not only got the tractor working but made it hover five feet above the ground during lunch last week. Working, Janice, and she made it hover. You know damn well that it hasn't had an engine in thirty years--you helped me and Myron take it out and bury it--and it still weighs at least two or three tons. Yet somehow, it's not only working, but hovering! I'm a public school teacher! I don't know how to deal with this.   
  
And do you know what she said when I asked her how she did it? She said it occcured to her while studying the wrinkles in the page of her math book. Said it looked like a diagram for a car battery, hooch, and a kitchen magnet wired together with paper clips. How do you make the leap from wrinkles on a page to making a three ton cast iron rusty hunk of junk float five feet off the ground?"  
  
Janice didn't answer that, partially because she didn't know how the answer either. But she did know what she'd say. It was one of the few things she and Micheal agreed on even after the divorce. Amy Lynn must never be treated differently just because she was a genius. She would be raised like any ordinary child. Though they had been only trying to act for the best, it had backfired. Amy Lynn thought that things like coming up with three different cures for the common cold while in the tub was perfectly normal and didn't understand that nobody else did things like that.   
  
Uneasily, Janice thought of the trunk in her room. Under the false bottom was her gun and other dangerous things. But underneath the second false bottom was sketches of things that Amy Lynn had come up with over the years. Things that could be twisted for an evil purpose. Sketches for things like a mind reading machine, artifical intelligence, teleport, time travel, and a host of others. It could mean disaster if somebody...untrustworthy it's hands on them. Or worse, the U.S. goverment. She knew she should destroy the sketches, but Amy Lynn had made them and the mother in her would not let her throw away anything her child had come up with. "Amy-Lynn is a perfectly normal child with a few gifts that she should use to the fullest" Janice said. "That's what her father and I taught her. There's nothing wrong with her."  
  
"N-normal?"  
  
"Normal," Janice said, a note of finality in her voice. Her tone practically dared Haruna to argue the point. "Just ask her that the next time she gets an idea, to run it past you first. Then when she does, compliment her and try not to think about what she's presented you with."  
  
"And that works?"  
  
"It's what I told her science teacher."  
  
"And it--" Haruna started, but broke off as the bonfire in the middle of the courtyard exploded outwards. Screams filled the air as burning chunks of wood struck people gathered nearby, setting clothes on fire. Janice fell backwards off the fence, pain shooting through her skull as stars danced before her eyes.  
  
Willing the pain to subside, Janice got to her feet swearing every oath she had learned in the barracks and looked at the fire.   
  
Standing there was a young man with short blond hair. Then her eyes narrowed as the man's face began to change. The skin darkened, his ears extended to a point and his blond hair became a pale white. He wore an military uniform of some kind and his expression was a cruel smile. Standing next to him was a creature that seemed to be half woman, half cat. Its hands were covered by metal gloves who's fingers were tipped with long knives.  
  
"My name is Jeddite," the man said. "Would Doctor Janice Anderson and her daughter Amy Lynn step forward?" He waited a few seconds and then nodded to the cat creature. With fluid grace, it grabbed the arm of the nearest person, a pregnant woman struggling to get to her feet, and proceeded to cut her to pieces, its arms moving almost to fast to see. Her screams died only when she did. "I'll not ask again," the man said.  
  
Janice swallowed hard and moved to the front of the row. "I'm Doctor Anderson," she said.  
  
"A pleasure. And your daughter?"  
  
"I don't know." She answered honestly.   
  
"I see. Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find her once you're dead." He held out his hand, palm facing her as a sphere of energy began to form.  
  
"Dead?"  
  
"Orders. Your presence is distracting General Malachite and she won't have that. So..." he shrugged. "Nothing personal." The sphere began to glow with an inner light and Janice made a decison. Nothing to lose now. Maybe he would be startled enough that she could do something,   
  
"Krishna De Vouga," she replied softly, so that only he could hear. "Calnagh, Cutah Mak Ganhorg...Guntah." she spat out the last word.  
  
Jeddite's eyes narrowed. "Well, well, well, the queen will reward me--" he broke off as a spike of ice shattered the sphere. "What in the..." He jerked his head around to see where the ice had come from. Standing in the gateway were two young women. One was dressed in white and gold, the other in what appeared to be some kind of armor. Both were armed with swords. Between them, a giant black wolf, teeth bared as it growled.  
  
"The priestesses. This must be my lucky night. I'll be right with you. "He jerked his head and the cat creature sprang forward. The wolf sprang forward as well and the thud as their bodies collided was heard across the courtyard. "Now then, Doctor, where--" the ground between them sprouted a long spear.  
  
"How dare you lay your hands on someone sworn to save lives?" Standing on the branches of the big oak tree was a man dressed in a centurion's armor, the helmet hiding his face. A large shield was on his left wrist and in his hand was a sword. "A healer's task is an honorable one and I cannot let you touch her."  
  
"Why me?" Jeddite sighed. As though it was some sort of signal, a second cat creature dropped onto the centurion from above, knocking him from the branch and driving him into the the ground. "Now," Jeddite said, looking back at Doctor Anderson, only to see no one there. "Why do they always want to do it the hard way?"  
  
"'Cause we don't roll ovah and play dead, Pointy," the woman in white said as she raised the longer of the two swords she held and pointed it at him.  
  
"You? You're pawns, pieces in a game, the both of you." With quick, precise, gestures, he traced a rune in the air, and placed his hand under it, palm up. "A game I will win." He moved his hand as though to push it forward and the rune fired dozens of beads of energy, tearing up the courtyard as they flew at the priestesses, who were forced to dodge for their lives. Conjuring his own swords, Jeddite leapt forward, swinging both his blades in a deadly arc.  
  
****  
  
The chapel shook as yet another blast exploded outside, and Rayelene let out a frightened squeak as dust and plaster rained down from the ceiling. "Please, Heavenly Father," she prayed. "Please forgive me. I ask you to give me strength to face the demons even if it costs me my life. I know I've strayed, but I see now the error of my ways and--"  
  
Hearing a noise, Rayelene spun. Standing on the back of one of the pews was a woman. She was tall, almost statuesque, with alabaster white skin, platinum white hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore white leather boots that came up to just below her knees. Her pants and button down shirt were also white. Her long coat came down to mid-calf. Her eyes, twin pools of ebony glittered softly, and her smile was kind. Feathered wings sprouted from her back.   
  
"An angel," Raylene breathed.  
  
"No," the woman said. "Not an angel." She stepped down from the pew and studied the statue of Christ over the altar. "A good man," she said softly, and then turned to look at Rayelene. "You pray for straying, but you were forgiven long ago, for there is a task you must complete.   
  
Your soul is an old one, with many lives. In one of them, you served another and were his avatar and champion. He has called you to his service one last time." She held out what looked like a pen. Almost as though it had a mind of it's own, Raylene's hand took it and she gasped as it seemed to tingle with its own fire and she dropped it as though stung.  
  
"I will not serve a false God!" Raylene exclaimed.  
  
"You say the words, but your heart isn't in them. You preach His word out of duty, not out of faith. You teach, but you do not believe. Tis an empty life to be a messenger who doesn't believe what she delivered."  
  
"But it's all I have."  
  
The woman came over to her and picked up the pen and then knelt in front of her, laying one hand on Rayelene's shoulder. "No. You have friends. Friends who need you." She pressed the pen into Raylene's hand, closing her fingers around it. "  
  
"Friends?" Raylene asked. She had never had friends before. The woman nodded.  
  
"Answer the call, Rayelene," she kissed the younger woman's forehead. "This is your destiny." Rayelene closed her eyes for a moment as her lips touched her forehead and when she opened them, the woman was gone. She looked down at the pen and then up at the statue. "I'm sorry," she said, and fled the chapel.  
  
****  
  
Amy Lynn glanced at Bunny and then back at the one called Jeddite. The fight had taken them away from Mount Ryland and onto one of the old mining roads that went down Whatchamankinmu Hill and then followed the the Pipsqueakacha river out towards Buchabonville, some twenty miles north of Juuban Hollow. On the other side of her was the strange man in the centurion costume, his sword, wet with the blood of the cat creatures, was back in it's sheath and he stood in an almost crouch, shield raised, the spear angled to intercept any strike that the shield might miss.  
  
Before them, the man called Jeddite. His uniform bore numerous rips and scratches through them, his cuts healed over, outlined in green blood. His expression was not unlike that of a cornered animal and his slightly hunched over posture reinforced that. Luna covered the far side, teeth bared in a growl. In a sense, they had Jeddite boxed in, each of them forming one point of a sqaure. That was, of course, assuming that the mysterious man in Roman garb was on their side. Amy Lynn frowned as the tatical analysis whizzed through her mind and then produced a conclusion. The enemy of her enemy was her friend. Centurion, as she thought of him, was Jeddite's enemy, or at least was doing a very good job of pretending to be and therefore was nominally on her and Bunny's side. She gave herself a small mental shake. She had too many what ifs in the eqaution and made herself look at it like a scientific problem. Centurion had stopped Jeddite from murdering her mother and once he had dealt with the cat creature, he had repeatedly attacked Jeddite at every opening.   
  
Therefore, logic dictated that he was Jeddite's enemy and their friend.  
  
And logic was always right.  
  
"All right, pointay," Bunny said. "Y'all wanna scurry back under yer rock or do we gotta beat yor sorry ass some more?"  
  
"No, no, I think not." Jeddite's arm twitched and the sword sprouted from Bunny's shoulder. The blonde went down with a strangled cry but that was nothing compared to the roar of sheer rage that Centurion let out as he leapt at Jeddite, who spun, his blade glinting in the starlight as it slashed a diagonal line up Centurion's chest armor, followed by a kick that forced Centurion to double over, curled up in pain as he hit the dirt.  
  
Jeddite then turned and locked eyes with Amy Lynn as he began to walk towards her. "And then there was one. Mercury's child, alone and powerless."  
  
"I am not powerless," Amy Lynn shot back, fighting the urge to run as self-preservation screamed at her. Raising her hand, she fired ice spikes at Jeddite, but he simply knocked them aside with the flat of his blade.  
  
"I can smell your fear, Ice Mage," he said softly. "I can taste it. It's like a drug, it fills me, empowers me, makes me whole." He laughed softly. "The masking spell is really very good, Amy Lynn, except that this close, I can smell your halfblood stink." Caught off gaurd, Amy Lynn could only stare as Jeddite raised his blade and then staggered to the side as a fireball struck him. Several more followed and then there was a sound of a thousand windows shattering at once and Jeddite vanished.  
  
"Well," said woman's voice. Turning her head, amy Lynn found herself staring at a woman dressed in a red and black form fitting jumpsuit, her hair a mass of flames and her eyes glowing bright red. Again the veil seemed to fall away and Amy Lynn found herself staring at Rayelene Hino.  
  
"Oh, no," Luna said softly. 


	5. Buried in The Past

"Then again, I have no idea what I'm talking about, so that may not be my actual opinion." -Asa Pillsbury  
  
The Clinic's garage was huge. A former barn, it had become a catchall for everything the clinic had accumulated over the years. Desks, chairs, tools, stacks of wood, equipment, and boxes of who knew what. The walls were made of thick stone and the roof of wood topped with slate. At some point in the past, somebody had covered the inside of the barn with insulation and then wood over that, making in cool in the summer and theoretically (she hadn't been able to test that part yet), warm in the winter. Or at least warm enough to function in. Amy Lynn wasn't that fond of cold.  
  
Still, having been grounded for a month following the possum hunt, and having nothing better to do, Amy Lynn had set herself to the monumental task of cleaning the garage. For two, three, and sometimes four hours a night, seven days a week, she'd cleaned, organized, and fixed. The end result was that she had her own personal two-story getaway. The bottom floor had room for Roller in the front half with the back half set aside as storage for parts and equipment. The loft she had transformed into a combination library, observatory, and electronic/chem lab. Sure the furniture and some of the equipment had seen better days, but it sufficed.  
  
At the moment, she, Rayelene, and Bunny sat in the library section of the loft.  
  
"GRAAAAAGHHHH!" Bunny screamed into the heavy gag clenched in her teeth as she flinched, breaking the eye contact she had been holding with Rayelene in a decidedly unfriendly staring contest.  
  
"I said, don't move," Amy Lynn said in what her mother called a "doctor voice," and Bunny stilled. The blonde sat on one of the couches stripped to the waist, bra strap hanging off one shoulder, which gave Amy Lynn plenty of room to work. Though she had numbed the wound with some of her mom's supplies, Bunny was still feeling pain. Of course, that may also have been due to the fact that Amy Lynn was cleaning the wound with a foul smelling glop that the other two were fairly sure was eating away the bowl. "My visor picked up some sort of chemical on the blade and it could be poison so I want to be sure I cover the entire inside of the wound with this antidote."  
  
"An antidote you just happened to have lying around?" Raylene asked.  
  
"Don't be silly," Amy Lynn said absently. "Canis Major and Leo when overlaid by Ursa Major forms the chemical components of the neutralizing agent that would be most effective on the substance." She shrugged. "Simple really. I'm surprised that neither one of you suggested it."  
  
It was enough to make Bunny spit out the gag. "Suggest it? Amy Lynn, not everybody looks up at the stars and comes up with antidotes."  
  
"Sure they do," Amy Lynn said, looking up from her work. "I..." she trailed off as she saw the looks Rayelene, Bunny and Luna were giving her. "Don't they?" The other three shook their heads. "But...Mom said..." Her hands shook and Raylene came over and took the applicator from Amy Lynn's hand.  
  
"What did she say?" Rayelene asked softly, all traces of her normally intense manner gone.  
  
"She said that there was nothing wrong with me. That I was just as smart as anybody else. Even when I made the neighbor's dog talk. I didn't understand why they were so shocked, all I did was feed it a formula that let it grow a voice box. I'm normal..." Amy Lynn stared at the others, the shock, surprise, and the truth plain on their faces. "Normal, I tell you," Amy Lynn tried again, willing herself to disbelieve their expression. "I'm not a freak..." Her breath came in short gasps. "There's nothing wr--wrong with making robots out food supplies...it's completely normal to build five megawatt lasers out of trashcans. It is!" Her voice had risen to a shout. "I'M NORMAL, DAMNIT!" and for one moment, Amy Lynn changed. Ê  
  
Bunny and Rayelene beheld a vision. The creature before them was a prime example of femininity, with sharp curves, long, lean muscled limbs, midnight black skin, white hair that seemed to shine with its own light, and long, gracefully pointed ears. She wore Amy Lynn's clothes, stretched tight over her tall, athletic frame and her eyes were of the deepest black, pupils that filled the whole eye socket.   
  
Then suddenly, there was Amy Lynn again, and she fell to the floor, curling up in a fetal position.  
  
Ten miles away, Malachite woke up with a start.  
  
*************  
  
"It had to have been Janice, not even Metallia's power tastes like that." Malachite paced back and forth across the main room in Nephrite's cottage, talking half to the man who had trained him, half to himself. "Two, maybe three generations back. Her grandparents died when she was a child, but the bodies were never recovered from the shipwreck. It must have been one of them."  
  
"Could be more," Nephrite pointed out. The eldest of the generals sat in an easy chair, legs crossed, somehow looking the very epitome of military protocol even clad only in his uniform trousers and unbelted silk robe. "Remember that the forest nymphs of what the humans now call Ireland once tried increasing their numbers by madly breeding with any human they could get their hands on. Only one out of every hundred children was actually a nymph, but to this day, a new nymph occasionally is born to entirely human parents."  
  
"Yes, yes," Malachite said, waving a hand dismissively, "but what were they? Who and what species were they that rutted with one of Janice's ancestors? It wasn't our light side cousins, it sure as hell wasn't the Fae, it tasted all wrong for a divinity, and dwarves simply don't have that kind of power."  
  
"The mountain kings do."  
  
"But they never breed with humans, ever."  
  
"Dragons?"  
  
"They hate the humans, and everyone else, for that matter."  
  
"It's also possible that its all Amy Lynn herself." Nephrite's lips twisted into a smirk. "This means that there's an excellent chance your own daughter is far more powerful then you."  
  
"Bah!"  
  
"I thought fathers were supposed to be proud of their daughters," Nephrite said.  
  
Malachite froze, his expression one of someone wrestling with some great inner conflict and then he snatched his drink off the table and drained it one gulp before dropping into the chair next to Nephrite. "Can I entrust you with a secret, Teacher?"  
  
"On my honor," Nephrite replied, surprised. It had been years since he had been addressed by that title.  
  
"I'm having second thoughts." Malachite refilled his glass and stared at the liquid. "Dangerous, second thoughts."  
  
"What kind of thoughts?"  
  
Malachite raised his eyes to meet those of Nephrite's. "Betrayal."  
  
Nephrite sipped his drink. "Dangerous thoughts indeed."  
  
"Beryl claimed that when she awoke us, she freed us from the chains of humanity. That we left our weaknesses behind."  
  
"And now you're thinking otherwise?"  
  
"What if she lied? What if we weren't freed, but chained? If being a dark elf, a Sidhe of the night is truly what I am, then so be it. I have more power at my command then most nations. I could destroy this entire valley by myself and leave it a wasteland. I loved Zoisite, I truly enjoyed our time together. My mouth waters at the thought of leveling this Valley, of leaving nothing alive. My hand aches to feel the impact of my sword cleaving flesh and bone and watching the life drain from my opponent's eyes.  
  
But...the night I took Amy Lynn home, Janice and I rutted on her floor like animals and I enjoyed every second of it. I look at Amy Lynn, and the thought of losing her respect and love chills me to the bone. I want to watch Amy Lynn grow up. I want her to be happy." He drained his glass in one swallow. "I can't walk the line anymore, Nephrite. What do I do?"  
  
"The right thing."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
Nephrite was silent for a long moment. "You're the only one who knows that."  
  
*************  
  
Malachite left Nephrite's cottage and was nearly run over as Jeddite charged up the hill, his face one of delight.   
  
"Beryl is going to flay you alive," Jeddite sneered as he stopped in front of Malachite. The white haired general stared at him in confusion. "I faked my own destruction and followed the priestesses back to their hideout where they resumed their human identities. Your daughter," Jeddite chortled, poking Malachite in the chest. "Your precious Amy Lynn is Mercury's slave. Our mortal enemy. Not even any power she has can save her now. She will die, Malachite, and you will be stripped of your rank at the very least. I, however will be promoted for my service." Turning, Jeddite headed towards the manor house, leaving Malachite to stare after him.  
  
Turning, he opened his mouth to call for Nephrite only to see the general emerge, buttoning his uniform shirt. "I heard," Nephrite said curtly. "Come on."  
  
****  
  
"Hello, Jeddite," Beryl was saying as Malachite and Nephrite entered the throne room. "Are those priestesses dead?"  
  
"No, my queen, but-"  
  
"You failed?" Beryl interrupted.  
  
"Yes, my queen, however, I did-" A black crystal sprang into being around Jeddite, freezing him in mid sentence.  
  
"You failed, Sweetie," Beryl said. "Nephrite, be a dear and kill those priestesses for me, would you? That's a good boy."  
  
Wisely, Nephrite and Malachite left the room.  
  
****  
  
Amy Lynn naturally didn't believe Rayelene and Bunny when she awoke and had been told what happened. Stubbornly, she refused to believe her friends, even when Bunny swore on Rayelene's pocket bible that Amy Lynn had in fact changed.  
  
Had Luna not intervened by puling on Rayelene's skirt, the argument could have gotten ugly.  
  
"We can worry about that later," the Great Dane said, glaring at them. "I took a moment to nose in one of the craters left behind from the battle with Jeddite and I found something I think may be important." She picked something off the floor with her mouth and set it on the coffee table. Raylene picked it up.  
  
It was a metal loop. At one point something must have been set in the center, but that was long gone. Written around it was a series of runes as though some kind of words or phrase.  
  
"What is it?" Bunny asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," Amy Lynn replied. "These almost look like a runic version of classic Latin, but I've never heard of Latin being written in runes before."  
  
"Can you translate it?" Raylene asked.  
  
"No. Ancient languages are a bit beyond me," Amy Lynn admitted with a nervous laugh. "But let me research it a bit."  
  
All right," Bunny said with a yawn. "I gotta do a fence check at dawn anyway, so I should get to bed."  
  
"I should be heading back to the church," Rayelene said. "Grandfather will be getting worried."  
  
The two girls left the barn, leaving Amy Lynn alone. Picking up the loop, she walked over to her computer, pausing only to grab her digital camera.  
  
****  
  
To: alanderson@usanetconnect.com From: dues_e@xmachina.org Re: Translation Please.  
  
Hi.  
  
Saw your post in the ancient languages forum and thought I'd take a crack at it. Or rather, I took it to a guy I know who knows a guy.  
  
The runes aren't even Latin or anywhere near it. According to what I was told, myth claims that the ancient Roman and Greek gods had their own language, separate from the mortals who's lives they toyed with.  
  
Even more interesting, the translation reads: "Endymiyon, defender of Ceres, Goddess of the Earth, Lady of the Harvest."  
  
Now here's the weird part. The name Endymiyon is connected with a little known Roman myth revolving around this tiny island off the coast of Italy known as "The Moon Kingdom". Supposedly, Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon promised the queen of that Island a "Sliver Millenium". In other words, a thousand years of peace and prosperity in return for their fealty. As a symbol of that promise, Diana gave the queen a piece of the moon itself in the shape of a crystal. This crystal supposedly contained a great deal of Diana's power.  
  
After that, the story gets really bizarre. As the thousand years drew to a close, a sorceress named Beryl seduced away four of the islands defenders and transformed them into "Sidhune". The closest translation of that word is Sidhe, but the description of them sounds more like the Dark Elves of D&D. She apparently wanted the crystal's power to free some minor demigod or Titan or something named Metallia.  
  
Whatever happened, Beryl and the island's ruler slew each other in a terrible battle, and the queen's daughter fled with the crystal, taking sanctuary in a temple dedicated to...you guessed it. Ceres.  
  
Touched by her plea, Endymiyon, who was one of the Temple's soldiers/priests turned to Ceres for help. Supposedly, that plea touched off a blazing row among the gods. Most didn't want to get involved, others argued that this Mettalia could be a threat. In the end, Ceres, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Diana decided that the crystal needed to be put out of the reach of mortals. So they each chose a champion, (a priest or priestess) and told them that they were to sail across the great ocean to the West until they found a place to stash the crystal. As a side note; Endymion was the only priest, the rest were priestesses.  
  
In any case, they sailed away to the west and were never heard from again.  
  
If that object you have is in fact genuine, it means you're holding authentic proof of the old roman myths. So if they're true, who knows what else is?  
  
Keep me posted,  
  
-S. Meiou 


End file.
